Sanitary spray-painting apparatus



Sept. 29, 1925.

J. A. MILLER SANITARY SPRAY PAINTING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2, 1923 Sept. 29, 1925. 1,555,305

J. A. MILLER SANITARY SPRAY PAINTING APPARATUS IN VENTOR MBA/7 /%//erf A TTORNE Y Patented Sept. 29, 1925. V

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. MILLER, OF TARRY'IOWN, NEW YORK.

SANITARY SPRAY-PAINTING APPARATUS.

Application filed July 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Iarrytown, county of Westchester, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Spray-Painting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sanitary spray painting apparatus in which the spray and vapors are carried away by a suction blower so as to protect the workmen from injury which might be caused by breathing air laden with paint vapors. The term paint is made use of herein as a convenient designation for coating liquids, such as paint, varnish and the like. I

The present application is more especially directed to apparatus for the painting of parts, such as automobile frames or chassis mounted on conveyors which are adapted to carry same past one or more painting stations and then through drying or baking ovens wherein the coating material is dried or baked.

According to the present invention, air inlet chambers are provided alongside, preferably along each side, of the conveyor, and provision is made for connecting the air inlet chambers with a powerful blower,

which is preferably provided with a discharge outlet extending to the exterior of the room or building in which the painting apparatus is located, though it may discharge back into the room or building, if desired.

Provision is made for condensing the paint spray and vapors and removing same from the an before it reaches the blower, and preferably the condensing devices are placed at the inlet side or entrance of the air intake chambers. In this way considerable quantities of paint maybe recovered and saved, and the blowers and air passages are kept substantially free from paint, and if d: sired the air from the blower discharge may be carried back into the room or building for reuse, though as stated, with chassis painting the air is preferably discharged outside the room or building.

The condensing apparatus is preferably made removable, so that it may be readily taken out and cleaned from time to time in order to keep it in efiicient operating condition.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description of an em- 1923. Serial No. 649,037.

bodiment thereof, shown for purposes of illustration and not for limitation, in-the accompanying drawings.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan View of a chassis painting apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial plan view with parts broken away. Fig. 3 is a section on line 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section (enlarged) on line 4-4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side view with parts broken away, and Fig. 6 is an end view taken through the entrance of the baking oven.

The automobile chassis 10 here illustrated as being painted is carried on a conveyor comprising the conveyor chain 11 running on tracks 12, and provided with supports 13 and 14 on which the chassis may be supported by its axles 15 'and 16. The conveyor runs through a painting station or stations. as indicated generally at 17, and thence through an oven or ovens 18.

Within the painting station 17 paint or other coating material is applied, as by the spray gun 19, which is supplied with compressed air from a suitable source, such as tank 20, and with paint or other coating liquid from a source such as barrel 21.

At the painting station 17 the conveyor runs through a preferably open topped and open ended channel 22, the sides of which channel are made up of low side wall members 23, over which the workmen lean while directing their spray guns upon and under the chassis, which may be moving forward, or the chain may be stopped temporarily while the painting operation is performed.

At the sides of the conveyor a drain 24 is provided for the paint which is not lodged on or runs off the chassis frame, and aprons 24* are provided under the upper reach of the chain 11 and lead downwardly on each side so as to discharge into drain 24. Air inlet chambers 25 are provided running longitudinally along the conveyorway adjacent to the drains 24. These air inlet chambers 25 are provided with conduits extending to the intake side of the blower casing.

At the inlet side of intake chambers 25, on top thereof as shown in the drawings, condensing apparatus is provided comprising a series of bafiles interposed in the path of incoming air laden with paint spray and vapors, which is condensed upon the bafiies and preferably discharged into drain 24. The condensing apparatus is preferably removable, so as to be readily adapted for cleaning, and as shown same is made in sections 26 26, 26, etc., which may be referred to'for convenience as condenser boxes. These condenser boxes, indicated generally by reference numeral 26 have rear walls 27 and partial front walls 28, leaving a front opening 29 below the wall portion 28, and are open at the top and also open at the bottom, except for the angle plate 30 extending longitudinally of boxes 26 and adapted to support boxes 26 at their forward sides on the front wall 31 ofintake chambers 25. The rear walls 27 of condenser boxes 26 are provided with an apron extension 32 adapted to rest on rear wall 33 of intake chamber 25, and to be inserted under apron plate 34, which, with the second outer apron plate supported by channel wall member 23, forms the outer bottom part of channel 22. Aprons 34 and 35 are inclined, so that paint condensed or lodged thereon runs off the lower edge of plate 34 and is carried by the louvres or. baffles 36 into drain 24 and out by the discharge pipe 37, from which it mayrun to waste, unless the chassis parts are kept clean enough to permit reuse of the paint, in which case it may be saved and used over.

The louvres or bafiles 36 may be of various forms so long as they are adapted to present an extensive surface in the path of the air laden with paint spray and vapors and to discharge paint collecting thereon into drain 24. In the form shown they comprise overlapping plates 38 having reversely bent channel and stiffening portions 38 and 38 and Wing plates 38, 38 whereby the air is caused to continually change direction in passing through the baffles and the paint vapors and spray are condensed and deposited upon the battles and ultimately run off the ends thereof into drain 24 through the opening 29 provided for that purpose. One set of baffle plates 38 are shown in the drawings, but two or more thereof may be used when desired.

The air conduits 39 which extend from air inlet chambers 25 to the intake 40 of blower 41 are preferably led into the successive parts of chambers 25 at an acute angle as shown and run back under the aprons 34, 35 at substantially such acute angle until they have gotten back far enough to permit of their being arranged in straight line sections 42, 42, which lead to the blower in-' take pipe 40.

The blower 41 may be operated from any source of power, an electric motor 43 being shown. WVhere an electric motor drive is used speed reduction is preferably resorted to between the motor and the blower, a belt 44 being illustrated as an example of speed reducing drive connection. The blower discharge pipe 45 may lead to the outside air, if desired.

The capacity of blower 41 and the horsepower of motor 43 are sufficiently great to keep the workmen in a body of clean inwardly moving air and to Withdraw the vapor and spray of paintwith the air in the direction indicated by arrows on Fig. 3, thus insuring that the workmen are fully protected. As the louvres or baflies 36 are located at the inlet side of air inlet chambers 25 the air is practically clean when it reaches the blower and blower passages. When it is desired to clean the baffles of the condcnserfboxes 26, same are readily removed by liftingthe front edges, releasing angle plate 30 from the wall plate 31, after which they can be moved forwardly, bringing the apron extension of rear wall 27 out of its seat under apron 34, thus completely releasing the condenser box and permitting its easy removal.

It will be understood that my invention may be embodied in various forms, that shown being for illustration only, and numerous changes and modifications may be resorted to within the scope of my claims without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. In sanitary spray'painting apparatus, a conveyor for parts to be spray painted, and suction blower means having an inlet adjacent to the conveyor and beneath parts 2 carried by the conveyor and serving for withdrawing the air laden with vapors and spray of paint.

2. In sanitary spray painting apparatus,

a conveyor for parts to be spray painted,

spray painting means adapted for spray painting parts carried on said conveyor, and suction blower means for withdrawing air laden with paint spray and vapor and having inlets arranged longitudinally of the conveyor, and beneath parts carried thereby.

3. In sanitary spray painting apparatus, a conveyor, spray painting apparatus for spray painting parts carried on the conveyor, a painting station of substantially channel form through which the conveyor passes, and means in the lower portion of the painting station channel and beneath parts carried on the conveyor for withdrawing air laden withtpaint spray and vapor.

4. In sanitary spray painting apparatus, a conveyor, an open-topped and open-ended channel through which the conveyor passes,

and means for withdrawing air laden with vapors and spray of paint from the lower part of the channel.

5. In sanitary spray painting apparatus, a conveyor, a channel through which the conveyor passes and having side walls exbeneath parts carried by the conveyor and adjacent to said drain.

6. In 'sanltary spray painting apparatus,

at conveyor, means for spraying paint on parts carried by the conveyor, means located beneath parts carried by the conveyor for withdrawing air laden with paint vapors and spray from the neighborhood of the conveyor, and means for vcondensing the paint spray and'vapors. 1 j

7. In sanitary spray painting apparatus,

a conveyor, a channel-like painting station 1 walls through which the conveyor passes,

means for spraying paint on parts carried by the conveyor within said channel, a drain at the bottom of the channel, means for withdrawing air from the lower part of the channel, and means for condensing the vapors and spray of paint from the air withdrawn, said condensing means being arranged to discharge condensed paint into said drain.

9. Insanitar-y spray painting apparatus, a conveyor, a channel through which the conveyor passes, means for spraying paint on parts carried by the conveyor in the channel, a suction blower having an inlet alongside the conveyor in the lower part of the channel, and means in the neighborhood of said inlet for condensing out paint from the air passing to the suction blower.

10. In sanitary spray painting apparatus, a conveyor, a high-sided channel through which the conveyor passes, means for spraying paint in said channel on articles carried on the conveyor, air inlet chambers adjacent to the conveyor and arranged at the lower part of the channel, a suction blower connected to said inlet chambers,

and removable condensing means located inthe inlet side of said air inlet chambers and adapted to condense the vapors and spray of paint from air entering said inlet chambers. v

11. In sanitar spray painting apparatus, a high-sided c annel with bottom walls leading downwardly, a conveyor passing longitudinally through the lower portion of the channel, drains on each side of the conveyor, air inlet chambers outside said drains, a suction blower connected to the air inlet chambers, and removable condenser boxes resting on the inlet chamber walls and discharging into said drains.

12. In sanitary spray painting apparatus, a high-sided channel with walls leading inwardly and downwardly, air inlet chambers opening into the lower part of the channel, drains adjacent to the air inlet chambers and lower 'down in the channel, removable condenser boxes provided with louvres or bafiles arranged to bridge over the air inlet chamber and to discharge paint condensed on the baffles and on the channel walls into the drains, and means for withdrawing air through said air inlet chambers.

13. In sanitary spray painting apparatus, a conveyor, a channel of generally trough form having walls leading inwardly and downwardly through which the conveyor passes, air inlets formed in the trough wall adjacent to the conveyor, a suction blower, and air conduits leading from the air inlets beneath the channel walls to the suction blower.

.14. A removable condenser for sanitary spray painting apparatus comprising. a frame having an angle member on its lower side to rest over a support, having an apron extending from its rear wall to rest over a second support and baflies or louvres extending across the. frame and having an outlet through a side of the frame, said condenser being readily removable for cleaning.

15. In combination, a conveyor having a drain on each side, drain plates underneath the conveyor leading into said drain, air inlet chambers on the outer sides of s id drains and open at their upper sides, downwardly and inwardly leading walls extending beyond the air inlet chambers and leading down thereto, a suction air blower, conduits leading under the sidewalls from the air inlet chambers to the blower, and removable condensing apparatus adapted to be supported over the air inlet chambers and comprising louvres or bafiies adapted to condensed thereon downwardly and to discharge it into the drains.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name hereto.

JNO. A. MILLER. 

